Support for artificial dentures.



No. 673,0I9. Patented Apr. 30, l90l. V. W.v GILBERT.

SUPPORT FOR ARTIFICIAL DENTUBES.

{Application filed Nov. 11, 1899.)

(No Model.)

WITNESSES:

NVENTOR:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VIRGIL WALTER GILBERT, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE S. S. WHITE DENTAL MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

SUPPORT FOR ARTIFICIAL DENTURES.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 673,019, dated April 30, 1901. Application filed November 11, 1899. Serial No, 736,628. (Nomodeh) To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, VIRGIL WALTER GIL- BERT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadel- I ufacturers of artificial teeth to make exhibitdentures by mounting artificial teeth upon wax forms. As it is desirable to show all aspects of such dentures, so that the labial, buccal, palatal, and occlusial surfaces of the teeth may be plainly seen without the necessity of handling or moving the denture, it is usual to mount these exhibit-dentures over or upon mirrors. The most common manner of accomplishing this'has been to secure the denture upon one end of about wire supporting-stem by embeddingsaid end of the stem in the wax form of the denture, the other end of said stem being inserted in a hole drilled in the mirror over which the denture is to be 0 supported.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved support or holder for displaying artificial dentures which shall better meet the requirements than anything of the kind now 5 in use.

A single embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of the 40 support, having a full upper exhibit-denture mounted thereon. Fig. 2 is a top or plan view of the support, the said denture being omitted. Fig. 3 is a view of the carrier of the support detached, the mirror-clamp thereof being shown in vertical section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4c is a perspective view of the socket-piece for securing the denture to the support, and Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing said socket-piece embedded in the.

wax form.

- and the supporting-stem F is readily detach- The support or holder as I now prefer to make it and as illustrated in the drawings consists of an upright standardA, the lower Y end of which is secured to a base-piece B, of any suitable form. The standard is tubular and has fitted in it an extensible or telescopic rod A, which may be locked in any desired position of adjustment by means of a setscrew a. A carrier C for a mirror and a wax form or denture is pivoted at c to the upper end of the rod A, so as to be capable of being rocked vertically. A mirror D is detachably secured to the carrier C by placing its rear end between a clamp consisting of two plates C and C set-screws 'c' and c in the lower plate C being used to securely clamp the mirror to the carrier. A pad or strip E, I of leather or other suitable material, secured to the under side of the mirror is best interposed between the mirror and theplate C for the set-screws c to bear against.

Secured to the carrier C and projecting upwardly therefrom is a bent rod or stem F, adapted to support a denture G directly over the mirror D in such position that all aspects or surfaces of the denture may be plainly visible, some of these surfaces being seen directly and others being'reflected in the mirror. The connection between the denture 8o able, a metallic eye or socket-piece H, partly embedded in the wax form of the denture, being adapted to slide upon said stem. The eye or socket-piece H consists of a preferably curved base portion H, which is embedded in the wax, and a socket portion H which projects above the upper surface of the denture. The eye or socket h of the socket-piece is shown as being round to fit and slide upon the round supporting-stpm F, and the top of the socket-piece is provided with a slot 71., which is entered by a spline or feather f on the supporting-stem. The object of this construction is to prevent lateral turning or rock ing movement of the denture about its supporting-stem, while leaving it free to be longitudinally adjusted relatively to said stem and also to be readily detached therefrom. Obviously the same object may be attained by making the stem F and the socket h angular in cross-section instead of round or in any other suitable manner.

A holder or support constructed in accordance with my invention afiords excellent and novel means for displaying or exhibiting artificial teeth mounted upon wax forms or dentures. The denture is supported in the proper position above the mirror in such manner as to reflect in the mirror the entire under surface of the denture, all portions or surfaces of the teeth and denture which are not directly visible being clearly seen in the mirror. The angle of inclination of the mirror and denture may be quickly altered, as desired, to secure the bestreliection or light by simply rocking the mirror up or down about the pivot c. To place the denture in the most favorable position for securing the best reflection in the mirror, it may be moved backwardly or forwardly by sliding the socketpiece along the supporting-stem, while, if desired, the inclination of the denture relatively to the mirror may be varied by bending said stem F to the desired angle. The denture and mirror may be adjusted to any desired elevation by means of the extensible rod A and set-screw a, this construction also providing for horizontally adjusting or turning the denture relatively to the base B.

Not only does my improved support render the denture carried thereby.susceptible of wide, varied, and easy adjustment, but its detachable or separable construction enables the support to be quickly dismounted or taken apartaud packed for transportation and then quickly assembled and mounted again. Thus the mirror may be quickly and easily connected to and disconnected from the support. The denture may also be quickly placed in proper position over the mirror or detached therefrom, while the standard is readily set up in the base or separated therefrom.

The detachable connection between the denture and its supporting-stem is of particular importance where it is desired to display the denture at a point remote from the place where the exhibit was prepared. The services of a skilled dentist are necessary in preparing and originally mounting the exhibit, after which by means of my invention the denture may be quickly connected to the support and properly adjustedto the desired position without the exercise of such particular care and skill.

Some parts of my invention may be used without the others, if found desirable. For instance, under some circumstances it may be advantageous to use the carrier without the base and standard, in which case the mirror, with the denture supported thereon by way of the carrier, may rest directly 011 a table or other support, or the carrier may be dispensed with and the supporting-stem secured directly to the mirror in any suitable manner. It will further be apparent that any suitable form of clamp maybe employed for connecting the mirror to the carrier when the same is used. In fact, while for ordinary purposes I prefer the holder or support as a whole constructed as shown and described, I wish it to be understood that the same may be altered in various ways withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention, the novel features of which I will specifically define in the claim at the end of this specification.

I have herein referred only to a wax-form denture; but it will be obvious that my improved holder is usable with dentures composed of other material, such as rubber, celluloid, or even metal. In case of rubber dentures the socket-piece may be embedded in the rubber before it is vulcanized, while the socket-piece may be soldered to a metal denture.

I claim as my invention- Au artificial-denture support orholder consisting of a carrier having pivotal connection with a suitable support and adapted to be rocked vertically with respect thereto, said carrier consisting of a mirror-clamp for supporting a mirror, and a supporting-stem projecting from said carrier over and above said mirror, in combination with an artificial denture having detachable connection with said supportingstem, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

Witnesses:

JAMES H. BELL, T. B. VAILL. 

